snow days

The girls were thrilled to get two days off for snow this week.

let the gardening begin

This is my plant starting set up. You can see the florescent grow lights over the plastic bucket. See the heating pad underneath. Notice the toilet paper tubes. I also have a fan, but I haven't started that up yet. The broccoli and cabbage only took a couple of days to germinate. It was amazing. This is all set up in our basement on some wire shelving. I have room for a lot more when the need arises. The heating pads are the only pricey item.

chickens in the snow

The chickens hate the snow. They spend most of their time on a little path I've shoveled out for them. I had to bribe them to walk in the snow by sprinkling oatmeal on it. Even then most of them refused to go in the snow.

student nurse

Here's R~ as a student nurse. No, it isn't a Halloween costume, it's really what he wears. He's so happy, not that he can smile for the camera, but trust me, he's thrilled to be back in school learning stuff that will allow him to serve. BTW stay out of the emergency room on Friday the 13th, he's going to be there working (as a nurse!).

isn't she cute?

DD#3 as a star trek alien and as herself.

sweater

Last post for today. I spun and knit this sweater. I was not personally acquainted with any of the animals (or plants) who supplied the fiber for this sweater. Does that make me any less of a fiber geek? The yarn is 50/50 dark coopsworth(wool)/pima cotton. I knit it in the round using Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentage system with my own additional of a "V" neck and wider hips. I knit because I love to knit, but if I keep knitting I eventually finish stuff. YEAH it's finished!!!!!

spinning and knitting

I spin. It is the most pleasantly relaxing thing in the world. In the picture I'm spinning cotton. Wool is much easier to spin. The sock I'm knitting is alpaca/wool. I'm knitting Gus. Gus is the honey-brown alpaca whose fiber I spun up and whose fiber is being turned into a sock. I got to meet Gus on the best homeschool field trip ever! We actually went down and visited an alpaca farm. Alpaca are insanely cute animals. With their big eyes and long eyelashes they look like they were invented by Disney. After meeting Gus I had to spin up some of his fiber and the socks I'm knitting are going to be the end result of that field trip.